LOWELL -- City Building Commissioner Shaun Shanahan has good tidings for the residents of Middlesex Village.

Months of frustration with conditions at Coelho Fuel and Repair may soon be over. The unsightly pile of dirt and construction equipment should be gone sometime this month. And many used cars have already been removed from the lot.

At the Dec. 8 City Council meeting, former Councilor and Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield presented a petition signed by 29 neighbors regarding the property. The petition asked that the council "address the conditions that exist at the business located at 493 Princeton Boulevard. The property is in total disarray with no regard for the neighborhood."

Neighborhood concerns actually predate the arrival last spring of a large amount of fill and equipment on the property, at the intersection of Baldwin Street and the boulevard. The problems began when Marchand Oil sold the property several years ago.

"It was a small white building and it was always clean when it was Marchand Oil," said Joan Huot, who lives on Hadley Street.

In 2009, the Zoning Board of Appeals granted owner Francisco Coelho a special permit to expand an existing non-conforming use to include the sale of used cars, setting a five-vehicle limit for display at the site.

The Lowell License Commission subsequently granted a license for the sale of used cars provided that the "licensee shall maintain a clean lot, free of junk motor vehicles.

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" Coelho's license specifies that the five cars should face Princeton Boulevard and be located on the Lauriat Street side of the property to avoid traffic problems at Baldwin Street.

Before the council meeting last week, up to 20 cars were often displayed on the lot, according to Lauriat Street resident Penny Cartier. She has a view of the lot from her bedroom window.

City Councilor Rita Mercier said the city is cleaning up its neighborhoods "but what happened here? Is it a used-car lot or a junkyard?"

After the council meeting, License Commission Chairman John Descoteaux visited the lot and gave Coelho instructions on "what he needs to do to clean it up." By the weekend, only five cars were on display and they were on the Lauriat Street side.

The business was originally operated as a gas and service station by Marchand Oil. Coelho wants to remove the seven underground gasoline tanks because he no longer operates a filling station.

Coelho signed a contract on June 25 with Stoughton-based Cyn Environmental Services to remove the tanks. The fill, forklifts and front-end loader arrived at about the same time.

According to Shanahan, Coelho expected Cyn Environmental to remove the tanks in October. But Cyn Environmental is one of only a few companies that can do this work, so it is in high demand.

"When they get to you, they get to you," Shanahan said. Now, the work has been scheduled for January.

Because the tanks have not been abandoned for five or more years, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection does not need to grant a permit to remove them. The Lowell Fire Department, however, does need to issue a permit.

Once Cyn Environmental has that permit, work can proceed quickly. The company has the equipment to pump out and clean the tanks right away, Shanahan said. The fuel will be hauled away, and the DEP will hold the company responsible for transporting and disposing of the fuel without contaminating the environment.

Coelho's license to sell used cars expired at the end of December.

Ryan Wynn, executive secretary of the License Commission, told The Sun that he has not been asked to schedule a hearing on renewal of the license. License renewal is usually pro forma. A renewal application is filed, the fee is paid and the license is renewed.

That does not sit well with Caulfield, although he is complimentary of the work city employees have done at the site.

"We should have a chance to air our complaints. The neighbors should be heard. No one should rubber-stamp this," he said.

Caulfield said the problems with the used-car business have gone on for several years. He said there is a lack of trust in the neighborhood with the business.

Shanahan said Coelho has received five or six violations for the number of cars on the lot.

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